2016 College Women of the Year: Sasha DiGiulian

"I fell in love with rock climbing at my brother's eighth-birthday party. Even now I'm always nervous before a climb, but I never give in to fear. When I was climbing the Eiger North Face in the Alps, nicknamed the Murder Wall, I thought of two fellow climbers who'd been brought down in body bags a few days before. But I pushed through. After 17 years I've been the first woman to conquer 26 of the world's most challenging rock faces. I want women to reach higher, and to work at their hardest level. That's real girl power."

—DiGiulian, a creative writing nonfiction major, is a three-time U.S. Nationals rock climbing champion; she is promoting the acceptance of the sport in Cuba.